This portrait of Venus and Cupid was created for a show of deities and was one of the first pieces where I mixed more than one of my paintings. It’s not a technique that i’ve used often since, but every once in a while it really works.

Sebastiano Ricci led a somewhat torrid and sordid life; a youthful indiscretion led to an unwanted pregnancy, and ultimately a greater scandal, when Ricci was accused of attempting to poison a young woman to avoid marriage. Strangely enough he ended up marrying her, abandoning her for another the daughter of another painter. Ahhh, the life of an artist…

Jean Fouquet’s Madonna is one of the most interesting paintings I’ve ever seen; the blue and red cherubs and the alabaster skin create such a juxtaposition. For me the remix transforms Madonna from a demure young girl into a sly goddess.

Like so many of his contemporaries, Mantegna explored similar religious themes in their work. Portraits of the Madonna are one of the most common, with many artists creating multiple works of her and the baby Jesus. This is my first, but many more follow, and they’re rapidly becoming a favourite subject of mine as well.

Angelo Bronzino is a master of the portrait, capturing the essence of a person in an allegorical blending of reality and myth. In this piece he captures Andrea Doria, an Admiral in the Geonese navy, as Neptune, god of the sea. Apparently the piece was quite risque for the times, representing a known public figure in the (almost) buff.

Adoration of the Magi marks the first piece where I dramatically altered the framing of the piece, eliminating almost 3/4 of the image to focus on mary and the baby jesus. The piece is also more abstract than some of my other works; removing the background and context around the two embeds them within a surreal landscape of pattern and paint. My favourite aspect of the piece is the natural morphing of jesus’ halo into a mohawk, which I can’t help but think of as a modernization of the son of god into a punk to make him accessible to a new audience.

Diving into 15th century art is diving into religious iconography, so it comes as no surprise that I would be using these images as a frame of reference for remixing. Working with Christian iconography is somewhat of an exploration of my own past; I attended services until the age of about 11, and like most people in my generation have a somewhat tumultuous relationship with the church. I have since reclaimed my personal connection with god and it feels powerful to be re-exploring these themes, remixing them, and presenting them in a modern light. I hope you enjoy!

Created for Halloween 2007, this piece was an exploration outside of my usual artistic range. Hans Grien was a student of Durer who clearly had a fascination with death, including the leering skeletal figure depicted in this piece in a number of his works. He was also extremely interested in witches and made many images of them in different media, including several very beautiful drawings finished with bodycolour, which I find quite erotic.

I’m looking forward to returning to his work for another remix sometime in the near future. In the meantime please enjoy!